New Community Teen Center in Greenwood Lake

The Greenwood Lake Village Board held their regular monthly meeting on Mon., Jul. 16 at the Village Courthouse. Visiting Town of Warwick Councilman Floyd DeAngelo was also in attendance at the meeting. When the Village of Greenwood Lake first learned that the G.L. Fire Department would be relocating to Lakes Rd. leaving the Village-owned firehouse vacant, they began discussing new uses for the old firehouse building. Many ideas were presented but nothing seemed more fitting than a new community Teen Center.

The G.L. Coalition has run the Teen Center, operating out of the G.L Elks Lodge, located at 35 Chestnut St., for the past five years. Village of Greenwood Lake Mayor Jesse Dwyer says the Village is eternally grateful for the amazing hospitality and commitment the Elks have demonstrated by working with and helping the youth in the community through this program. Mayor Dwyer feels it’s time to move out and move on.

Beginning this fall, the Teen Center will operate out of the old firehouse on Waterstone Rd. In addition, the Village Board hopes this facility can be effectively shared as a community center and used by all local organizations. For example, the firehouse will serve as a training facility for the G.L. theater program as they prepare for their weeklong show in August. The Board has already received a request from the Grace Lutheran Church to use the building for their craft fair.

“These are great uses for the building and we are open to all organizations who might need space. Any organization wishing to use the facility can reach out to Village Hall and we will work out the details. There is, of course, no charge for local organizations to use the community center. I am extremely excited about this new opportunity for the teens in Greenwood Lake, and I cannot thank the G.L. Elks enough for their years of assistance for the kids of our community. I am sure the Teen Center will continue counting on them even after the move,” said Mayor Dwyer.

The Teen Center is in need of donations of the following items: couches (must be in good condition), pool table, flat screen television (for wall mount), freezer, commercial oven, shelving, bean bags, and any other items that are well suited for a teen center. To donate, send an email to Mayor Dwyer at mayor@villageofgreenwoodlake.org or call 477-9215.

Police Report

G.L. Police Chief John Hansen announced that the Police Department handled a total of 1,446 complaints, made 27 arrests, issued 131 traffic tickets and five parking tickets, investigated three motor vehicle accidents, and handled one navigation complaint.

“I would like to say thank you to the Warwick Fire Department which came down and helped us with the July 4 parade and Warwick Police Chief McGovern and Lt. John Rader for helping us greatly during the fireworks display. We appreciate it,” said Chief Hansen.

Department of Public Works Report

Phil Landru reported that for the months of June and July the Department of Public Works (DPW) has been busy collecting lead and copper samples. Of the 42 samples collected and submitted to the lab for testing, five came back within action level exceedance. Landru explained that action level exceedance was not the same as maximum contaminant levels, which are MCL’s and considered Health Department violations. The exceedance only requires that levels be monitored with additional and frequent sampling.

The DOH requires that 90 percent of the samples come in under the listed action levels for lead and copper. The five exceedances were only one sample failure over the allowable limit for the total samples taken and the minimal exceedances were for copper only. There were zero exceedances for lead during the second consecutive round of sampling since reintroducing Orthophosphate to address any corrosion control issues.

“We have never had lead or copper in our water. There are mildly corrosive properties in our water that will break down whatever copper plumbing and or lead solder that may still exist in our aging infrastructure, which mostly includes residential plumbing in people’s homes,” said Landru

The DPW anticipates having the new well project completed as soon as possible to have the necessary water and rapid recovery capabilities to get the entire system adequately flushed in less than five days. The distribution system could use a good flush to improve water quality and distribute the Phosphate effectiveness. The DPW would also like to thank the Town of Warwick for their assistance in helping replace two broken fire hydrants that had been out of service for quite some time.

New Municipal Well

Mayor Dwyer announced that work on the new municipal well is progressing quite nicely and anticipates that digging will commence within the next week or two. The new well will be located between the G.L. Bark Park and the basketball courts and will be easily accessible and ideal. The production site will last much longer and prove to be a worthwhile investment. The new well is expected to be up and running by late August or September.

Dwyer commended the work of Phil Landru and the DPW and anticipates that copper levels will continue to decrease once the new well is thoroughly flushed and the water treatment is distributed effectively.

Lake Quality Update

Mayor Dwyer announced that through an assessment made by conducting the herbicide program three weeks ago, he took a ride to assess the situation on the lake with Solitude Management, the company which manages the herbicide. The results throughout the arms of the lake were excellent but the North arm of the lake was getting worse as anticipated.

“At this point we’re going to use a weed harvester and conduct some weed harvesting in the North arm and look into some long term solutions, including possibly purchasing a new weed harvester in the next year,” said Dwyer.

Short Term Rental

Mayor Dwyer announced that the system is working effectively and he is very happy with the progress of the new short term residential rental law. Dwyer gave the Board a thorough analysis of the current short term rental status. There were 10 new applications, five approvals, five applications denied, and two currently undergoing prosecution.

“People are following the rules and applying for permits and approvals and those who are not are being caught and penalized for not doing so. It is helping to identify flaws in the community such as septics and illegal residences. We will update the Board and the public as updates become available,” said Dwyer.

Senior Center

Mayor Dwyer announced that the Village has received the necessary funding from the Community Block Development Grant contract in the amount of $40,000. Dwyer says bid specifications will be put together and the project will be available for bidding. Dwyer anticipates that the project will be completed within the next 30 to 60 days.

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The Warwick Valley Dispatch, a weekly newspaper, was founded in 1885 by George F. Ketchum and has been in the same family for its entire 130 years of providing local news to Town of Warwick residents. The newspaper is printed on a 1930s web press in the Dispatch building, located at 2 Oakland Avenue in Warwick, NY.